Fantasy Pool Look: Deadline player values

Bryan McCabe had 17 assists and 29 points in Florida before joining the Rangers in New York.

Darryl Dobbs
2011-03-01 15:35:00

Another busy trade deadline in the hockey world - though still less busy than usual - and some of the players who changed locations will see an increase/decrease in fantasy value. Furthermore, players who weren’t moved at all will see similar changes simply because of the change in the dynamic on the roster.

PLAYERS WHO SAW THEIR VALUE RISE

7. Jason Arnott, Washington
Arnott was on a 30-point pace in New Jersey and was stuck on the third line. He was not a part of their resurgence, as he has been pointless in his past eight. In his day, Arnott was a huge playoff performer capable of posting 75 regular season points. That day is long past, as his body has broken down with injuries and age. The playoff experience is there, but the Capitals needed a second-line center badly and I don’t think they got one here. That being said, Arnott could still post a point every two games playing with Alex Semin and has enough left in him for some clutch scoring in the playoffs. The bottom line is, instead of tallying another seven or eight points with New Jersey down the stretch, he’ll get 10 or 12 with Washington and that equates to a bump in value.

6. Sami Lepisto, Columbus
Lepisto is a puck-moving defenseman who has been miscast as a shutdown guy. Now he joins a team that desperately needs a puck-mover. Lepisto will finally get his chance in Columbus, but the window is only 21 games long. If he doesn’t step up and show he can run a power play or make that accurate first pass out of the zone, he will be doomed to be a No. 5 forever.

5. Rob Schremp, Atlanta
Schremp is familiar with the “boom or bust” handle. It was a waiver pickup that should have been lost in the deadline frenzy, but instead was all too noticeable during the deadline non-frenzy. Schremp can score in bunches, but struggles to do it consistently. As always, a new team can certainly help. He has a 19-game window to prove himself and show he belongs, or he’ll Bergfors his way out of Atlanta.

4. Bryan McCabe, Rangers
The Rangers needed a true power play quarterback and McCabe has been known at times to be one. Coach John Tortorella will play the heck out of this guy, giving him all the power play time he can handle. With 18 games left, I wouldn’t be shocked to see 14 or 15 points from McCabe.

3. Brad Boyes, Buffalo
He made an impact early on in Boston and again early on in St. Louis. It’s the later seasons that killed him. Now he starts again in Buffalo and in keeping with his pattern, he should make an impact quickly.

2. Dustin Penner, Los Angeles
The Kings have been trying everyone on the left wing with Anze Kopitar, ranging from Brad Richardson to Wayne Simmonds to that guy in Section 12, Seat 46. So you just know they’ll try Penner there. Enough said.

1. Dennis Wideman, Washington
Passing the puck on the power play to Alex Ovechkin and Semin is a slight upgrade to passing the puck to Stephen Weiss and David Booth.

PLAYERS WHO SAW THEIR VALUE FALL

5. Niclas Bergfors, Florida
He needs a fresh start and things could absolutely turn around for him in Florida. However, after watching the Panthers waive a skilled, but soft player in Michael Grabner, I can’t help but cringe at the prospect of Bergfors impressing coach Peter DeBoer.

4. Dan Girardi, New York
He was the only option the Rangers really had to quarterback the power play, since Michael Del Zotto is not ready. Now that they added McCabe, there is no need to force this square peg into the round hole any longer.

3. Mike Green, Washington
Green is already having a bad season and his talent level is too high to write him off. However, the fact the Capitals went out and grabbed Wideman should be a red flag to poolies - Green will be out for a while and do not discount the possibility he may not return at all this season.

1. Nathan Gerbe, Buffalo
Still an up-and-coming player, Gerbe will probably not do much to the scoreboard down the stretch with Boyes on the scene. In fact, with Boyes signed next year, this hurts Gerbe’s chances of taking the step forward fantasy owners were hoping for.

Darryl Dobbs’ Fantasy Pool Look is an in-depth presentation of player trends, injuries and much more as it pertains to rotisserie pool leagues. Get the edge in your league - check out the latest scoop every Tuesday and Saturday. Also, get the top 300 roto-player rankings on the first of every month in THN’s Fantasy section.